Three Minor Parties Enter Candidates in 2011 Mississippi Legislative Races

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Mississippi elects all of its state legislators in the odd years before presidential elections. All legislators have 4-year terms. In the 2011 election, the Libertarian, Reform, and Constitution Parties have candidates for the legislature. The Libertarians are: Harold M. Taylor, Sean Holmes, Jan “Jay” Butler, and Donna Knezevich (all are running for State House). The Reform Party candidates are Lajena Williams, Yasming Johnson (each running for State Senate), and Randy Walker (for State House). The Constitution Party candidate is James Overstreet (for State Senate).

The Libertarian Party has never before had any nominees for the Mississippi State House, although it had one for Mississippi State Senate in 1995. The Reform Party has never before had any nominees for the Mississippi legislature. The Constitution Party had eight nominees for the Mississippi legislature in 2007.

Mississippi is also electing its state executive positions this year. The Reform Party is the only minor party that has any statewide nominees. There is also one independent running for Governor. There are twelve independent candidates for the legislature this year.

Socialist Workers Party Attacks President Obama’s Executive Order on Disclosure of Political Contributions for Government Contractors

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The June 6 issue of The Militant, weekly newspaper of the Socialist Workers Party, has this editorial criticizing President Obama’s new executive order that requires government contractors to reveal extension information about their political donations and other political activity. For forty years, the Socialist Workers Party has been the most consistent voice on the left in opposition to campaign finance disclosure requirements.

Lawsuit Against California Election Law that Won’t Let Groups Sponsor Initiatives

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California election laws governing initiatives provide that only an individual may file a notice of intent to circulate an initiative petition. On April 28, 2009, a local group in San Diego County filed a federal lawsuit, arguing that the California law must also permit groups to sponsor initiatives. See the complaint here. The case is Chula Vista Citizens for Jobs and Fair Competition v Norris, U.S. District Court, southern district, 09-cv-897. The case had been on hold for a year, but now briefs in the case are being filed.

One of the Two Virginia Lawsuits on Petitioner Residency Dismissed on Procedural Grounds

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In 2010, two separate lawsuits were filed in federal court against a Virginia law that makes it illegal for anyone to circulate a petition outside of his or her home U.S. House district, if the petition is to place a candidate for U.S. House on the ballot. One of them, Lux v Judd, 10-1997, was argued in the 4th circuit on May 12, 2011, and the argument went well for the candidate who is challenging the restriction.

The other case, on the identical issue, is Libertarian Party of Virginia v Virginia State Board of Elections, 10-2175. However, it was dismissed by the 4th circuit on June 3, 2011, solely because of a technicality. The Libertarian case sued the Virginia State Board of Elections but failed to sue the officers of the State Board of Elections. The 11th amendment to the U.S. Constitution requires that federal lawsuits, alleging that a state law is unconstitutional, must sue particular individuals (such as a Secretary of State, or the Executive head of any State Board of Elections), not just the state or any agency of the state. The outcome in the Libertarian Party case will not have any adverse effect on the Lux case, so no real harm has been done.

New Hampshire Libertarian Fights in Court for Equal Ballot Placement

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On June 3, Kenneth Blevens, Libertarian Party nominee for U.S. Senate in 2010, filed a motion in state court to require that in future elections, all candidates have a chance to be listed first on general election ballots. Blevens had filed his lawsuit in 2010, but it was too close to the election to ask for any relief in the 2010 election. The case is Blevens v New Hampshire Secretary of State, Merrimack County 217-2010-cv-0759.

In 2006 the New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled in Akins v Secretary of State that the state must treat each candidate equally, in the matter of placement on the ballot. As a result, New Hampshire now rotates party columns, so that in one-third of the state, the Democratic Party column is listed first; in one-third of the state the Republican Party column is listed first; and in the remaining third of the state, the column in which all minor party and independent candidates are placed is listed first. That last column is headed “Other Candidates.”

The problem is two-fold: (1) squeezing all minor party and independent candidates into the same column and denying them their own separate column heading is not equal; (2) aside from that, the November 2010 ballot did not rotate the names of the candidates within that “Other Column”, so that Blevens was always on the bottom within that column (although that column only had two U.S. Senate candidates within it).

New Hampshire is the only state that, as a matter of state policy, never gives a party column heading to an unqualified party. However, in New Jersey, where each county has its own ballot design, most New Jersey counties also won’t give a party column heading to unqualified parties. New York also has bad ballot format, but at least New York does give a party column to some of the unqualified parties.